Iceland attractions

Garðskagi Lighthouse

Garðskagi Lighthouse stands on the Garðskagi point in Garður, at the northwestern tip of the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 15 minutes from Keflavík Airport and under an hour's drive from Reykjavík. You get two lighthouses for one stop here: the tall white tower is the newer light, and down on the shore stands the small red-and-white original. The old lighthouse went up in 1897 and is thought to be the second-oldest concrete structure in Iceland. It has been protected as a heritage site since 2003. Sea spray and erosion were a constant problem that close to the water, so a new tower was built farther inland in 1944. Designed by engineer Axel Sveinsson, the 28.6 m concrete cylinder took about three months to build and is still an active light today. The grassy point around both lighthouses is open to walk at any time, with a parking lot right beside it. On a clear day, you can see Snæfellsjökull glacier across the bay to the north, and the shore is good for birdwatching. Next to the lighthouses, the Garðskagi heritage museum fills the old fish processing buildings with local maritime history and a collection of more than 60 restored engines, almost all of them still in working order. It's open daily 10:00–17:00 from May 1 to September 30, and groups can book visits in winter. There's also a restaurant on site and a campsite on the point. Plan on 30 minutes for the lighthouses alone, or an hour or more with the museum. Garðskagi pairs well with Hvalsneskirkja church to the south, or works as a first or last stop on the way to or from the airport.

Geosea Sjóböð

GeoSea Húsavík is a set of geothermal sea baths on the Húsavíkurhöfði headland in Húsavík, North Iceland, with infinity pools on the cliff edge looking straight out over Skjálfandi Bay. The baths opened in August 2018 beside the town lighthouse, and they offer something the region's freshwater lagoons can't: a soak in warm, mineral-heavy seawater with a chance of whales in the bay below. The water is pumped from drill holes near the shore, already hot from the geothermal ground, then blended and held at 38 to 39°C. It flows through the pools continuously rather than relying on cleaning chemicals, so expect a salty taste on your lips. A swim-up bar, a steam room and a café round out the visit, and whales do sometimes surface in the bay, though no one can promise a sighting. You'll find the GeoSea sea baths at Vitaslóð 1, a five-minute drive from the town center. Akureyri is about 75 km away, roughly an hour and a quarter by car, and Lake Mývatn and Ásbyrgi canyon are both within about an hour. Most people spend one and a half to two hours here. The baths are open all year, with standard GeoSea opening hours of 12:00 to 22:00, though winter schedules can be shorter on weekdays. Children under 6 enter free with an adult, and there are reduced rates for kids, seniors, students and disabled visitors, while towels, swimsuits and robes can be rented. GeoSea prices change often, so check the current list on the official website and book ahead online for summer evenings, when the low sun sets over the bay.

Gjáin

Gjáin is a small valley in Þjórsárdalur, South Iceland, where the Rauðá river runs through old lava in a string of waterfalls, pools and basalt chutes. After the bare gravel plains around it, the green of this one hollow comes as a surprise. The largest of the Gjáin waterfalls is Gjárfoss, and smaller falls spill over the valley rim around it. Footpaths lead down to the valley floor, so you can follow the river between them and look up at the lava formations from below. To reach Gjáin, drive about 2 hours from Reykjavík via Route 1, Route 30 and Route 32, then take the gravel Road 327 toward Stöng, the ruins of a farm buried by Hekla in 1104. Road 327 is bumpy and gets rough after rain, so a 4x4 is the safer choice. From the Stöng parking lot the walk takes about 15 minutes, and a second lot on the south side of the valley has a shorter path down. Summer, roughly June to September, is when the valley is greenest and the gravel roads are in their best shape. Allow an hour to walk the paths, and stay on them, because the moss here recovers slowly. Háifoss and Hjálparfoss make easy additions on the same day, and the reconstructed Þjóðveldisbærinn farm shows what Stöng looked like before the eruption.

Glanni Waterfall

Glanni waterfall is a series of cascades on the Norðurá river in West Iceland, just off Route 1 near Bifröst. A short path from the parking lot ends at a viewing platform above the falls, so the whole stop takes about 20 minutes and breaks up the long drive north. Norðurá is a salmon river, and the fish get past Glanni through a fish ladder beside the falls. A counter in the ladder has tallied the salmon run since 2002. The falls sit at the edge of the Grábrókarhraun lava field, which poured out of the Grábrók craters about 3,400 years ago. From the overlook, the trail carries on a short way south to Paradísarlaut, a sheltered hollow with a small pond of very clear water that locals like for picnics. Keep going and the path leads on toward Laxfoss and Munaðarnes, crossing two small streams that are easy to step over. The Glanni turnoff is on Route 1 just south of Bifröst, under an hour and a half from Reykjavík, and a short side road ends at a small parking lot. Late spring to early fall gives the easiest footing, since the platform and path can be icy in winter. Combine Glanni with Grábrók crater a few minutes up the road, or with Deildartunguhver and Hraunfossar in Borgarfjörður.

Glerárlaug

Glerárlaug is Akureyri's smaller municipal swimming pool, in the Glerárhverfi district north of the Glerá river, and its main pool is indoors. The 16.7 meter basin suits swimming lessons and steady laps, which makes it the quieter choice in Akureyri when the wind is howling down Eyjafjörður and you want to skip the slides and summer crowds. Outside are two hot tubs, a wading pool, a cold tub and a sauna, so the soak-then-plunge routine still works in winter. Wheelchair users get good access to the changing rooms and a lift into the indoor pool, and the town says a mobile lift for the outdoor hot tubs is on the way. Glerárlaug is at Höfðahlíð, about 2 kilometers or five minutes by car from central Akureyri. Adult entry in 2026 is 1,400 ISK and ages 6 to 17 pay 310 ISK, the same prices as the larger outdoor Akureyri Swimming Pool. An hour is plenty for a swim and a sit in the tubs. Timing matters here, since the pool closes in the middle of the day on weekdays outside summer. From August 24 to June 2 it opens weekdays 6:45 to 8:00 and 16:00 to 21:00 (only the outdoor area is open from 16:00 to 18:00), and weekends 9:00 to 14:30. From June 3 to August 23, weekday hours run straight through from 6:45 to 21:00, with the same weekend hours.

Gljúfrasteinn

Gljúfrasteinn is the former home of Halldór Laxness, Iceland's Nobel Prize-winning novelist, in Mosfellsdalur valley about 20 minutes from Reykjavík. Laxness and his wife, Auður, built the white house on the banks of the Kaldakvísl river in 1945, ten years before the Nobel came in 1955, and it is the closest you'll get to meeting him. Auður sold the house to the Icelandic state in 2002, and it opened as the Gljúfrasteinn museum in September 2004. Inside, the walls carry paintings by 20th-century Icelandic artists such as Jóhannes Kjarval and Nína Tryggvadóttir, along with work by the Danish painter Asger Jorn. An audio guide covers the ground floor, and in summer the living room hosts concerts. The house sits beside Route 36, the road to Þingvellir National Park, in the Mosfellsbær municipality. That makes the Laxness museum an easy first stop on a self-drive Golden Circle day. Plan on about an hour for the house, plus time for a walk along the river. From June through August, Gljúfrasteinn is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. In spring and fall (March to May, September and October) it opens 10:00 to 16:00 Tuesday to Sunday, and from November to February only Tuesday to Friday. Admission is 1,500 ISK for adults and 1,200 ISK for seniors and students, while children get in free.

Grafarvogslaug

Grafarvogslaug is the neighborhood swimming pool of Grafarvogur, a residential district on the northeastern edge of Reykjavík, run by the City of Reykjavík at Dalhús 2. On most evenings the hot pots are full of locals rather than tour groups, so it is a good place to see how Reykjavík residents actually unwind. For a suburban pool, the list of facilities is long. There is a 25-meter lap pool, a children's pool and two slides, along with several hot pots, a cold tub, a sauna, an infrared sauna and a steam room. A separate indoor pool and a wading pool make it a good choice on a wet or windy day, and older kids can tackle the Wipeout obstacle track. Grafarvogslaug is open 06:30 to 22:00 on weekdays and 09:00 to 22:00 on weekends, so a late swim works every day of the week. From downtown it is roughly a 15-minute drive, which makes it most convenient if you are staying in the eastern suburbs or in Mosfellsbær. Between late August and June, parts of the pool may be reserved for school swimming and training, so ask at the front desk if you need a lane. Since May 5, 2026, a single adult ticket costs 1,500 ISK, and a 10-visit card is 7,000 ISK. Children aged 10 to 17 pay 400 ISK, while children up to age 9 swim free with a guardian. You can rent a towel for 860 ISK or swimwear for 1,270 ISK, and wheelchair users have an accessible pool plus a private changing room.

Grettislaug

Grettislaug is a stone-walled hot pool at Reykir on the Reykjaströnd coast of Skagafjörður, North Iceland, where you soak at the edge of the sea with Drangey island standing offshore. Grettis saga tells how the outlaw Grettir Ásmundarson swam about 7 kilometers from Drangey to this spot and warmed up in the spring through the night. The pool you see today is a rebuild. A storm in the fall of 1934 wrecked the old pools when the sea pushed the shingle ridge inland, and in 1992 local farmer Jón Eiríksson rebuilt Grettislaug with a seawall in front. The Grettislaug hot spring measures about 4.5 by 3.75 meters and 80 centimeters deep, and its water is around 42°C. A second, smaller pool called Jarlslaug sits a few steps away. Reykir is the last farm on the coast road, about 25 minutes north of Sauðárkrókur on Road 748. The final stretch is gravel but manageable in a regular car. Expect basic facilities and an entrance fee, and check the current season and price with the operators before you drive out, since the site isn't staffed year-round. Go on a calm evening in summer, when the low sun lights up Drangey and the bay. An hour is plenty for a soak and a walk along the beach, and summer boat trips to Drangey also leave from Reykir if you want to see the island up close.

Grindavík Swimming Pool

Grindavík Swimming Pool is the outdoor town pool at the sports center on Austurvegur 1 in Grindavík, a fishing town on the south coast of the Reykjanes peninsula. It's about 50 minutes' drive from Reykjavík and roughly 10 minutes from the Blue Lagoon. The Grindavík pool is built for residents rather than visitors, which is the appeal. You get a 25-by-12.5-meter pool for laps, two hot tubs (one with massage jets) and a children's pool with a mushroom fountain and a water slide. Expect local swimmers and school groups instead of tour buses, and plan on about an hour. Since the town was evacuated in November 2023 because of the Sundhnúkur eruptions, Grindavík has stayed at the uncertainty level of Iceland's civil protection system. The municipality welcomes visitors, but services are still limited. The pool's hours change with the season and local conditions, and admission prices aren't published online. Before you drive down, phone the sports center on 426 8244 to confirm the pool is open, and check the official road-conditions map and hazard notices for the peninsula. If it turns out to be closed, Vogar Swimming Pool is the nearest alternative, about 20 minutes away by car.

Grundarfjörður Camping Ground

Grundarfjörður Camping Ground is the town campsite in Grundarfjörður, a fishing town on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland, about 2 hours 30 minutes' drive from Reykjavík. It sits on the upper edge of town at Borgarbraut 19, with Kirkjufell in view across the fjord. The campsite is split into several smaller areas, and the two largest have toilets with wheelchair access and a dishwashing area. Electrical hookups are available for campervans and caravans. With Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss only 3 kilometers west, you can be at the waterfall before the tour buses at sunrise. There are no showers on the campsite itself. Instead, campers use the town swimming pool next door, which charges its own fee and keeps its own hours, so plan your shower around them. A playground and sports field are next door too, which helps if you're traveling with children. For 2026, adults pay 1,800 ISK per night, seniors and disabled guests 1,300 ISK, and children under 16 stay free. Electricity is another 1,300 ISK per night. Stays of three nights or more get 15% off, six nights or more get 25% off, and the site is part of the Útilegukortið camping card scheme. Camping in Grundarfjörður is possible all year, with reduced service in winter, when the toilets stay open and the pool showers are available during pool hours. Shops, gas, cafés and the harbor are about a 10-minute walk away, and on clear winter nights the dark fjord gives you a fair shot at the northern lights.

Grundarfjörður Swimming Pool

Grundarfjörður Swimming Pool is the town pool in Grundarfjörður, on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland, in the sports center at Borgarbraut 19 beside the campsite. It's a small local pool about 3 kilometers from Kirkjufell, handy for a hot soak after a cold evening at the mountain. The outdoor lap pool is 16.67 meters long, and there's a children's wading pool, two hot tubs and a sauna. From May 1 to September 30 everything is open. In winter the lap pool and wading pool close, and the hot tubs carry on alone. Summer hours at the Grundarfjörður pool run 07:00 to 21:00 Monday to Thursday, 07:00 to 23:00 on Friday and 10:00 to 18:00 on weekends. That late Friday closing helps if you reach the peninsula in the evening. In winter, the hot tubs open 08:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 13:00 to 17:00 on Saturday, and they're closed on Sunday. Under the 2026 price list, adults pay 1,200 ISK, children aged 10 to 17 and seniors pay 400 ISK, and children under 10 swim free. A shower alone costs 900 ISK, which is what campers next door pay, and towels and swimsuits rent for 900 ISK each. As at any Icelandic pool, you shower without a swimsuit before you get in. An hour is enough for a swim and a soak. When the lap pool is closed, the nearest alternative is in Ólafsvík, about 25 minutes' drive west.

Grábrók Crater

Grábrók Crater is a scoria cone beside the Ring Road near Bifröst in West Iceland, close enough that you can park, climb it and be back in the car in under an hour. The red and black cone stands about 170 meters above sea level, and wooden stairs lead to a rim walk with views over the lava field and Norðurárdalur valley. Grábrók is the largest of three craters on a short fissure that erupted roughly 3,400 years ago. Its lava, Grábrókarhraun, covers about 7 square kilometers, blocked the Norðurá river and dammed the hollow that now holds Hreðavatn lake. The craters have been protected as a natural monument since 1962, so stay on the marked path and off the fragile moss. The parking lot sits on Route 1 about an hour and a half north of Reykjavík and roughly half an hour past Borgarnes. From there, the stairs climb steadily to the top, where a path loops around the rim. Most people need 30 to 45 minutes for the climb, the loop and a few photos. On the drive between Reykjavík and Akureyri or the Westfjords, it makes an easy leg-stretch. Summer and early fall give the best footing, while snow and ice can make the steps slippery in winter. Pair the climb with Glanni waterfall, a few minutes south near Bifröst, or with Deildartunguhver and Hraunfossar in Borgarfjörður.

Grænavatn

Grænavatn is a small crater lake in Krýsuvík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, right beside Route 42, and its water is a milky green that looks almost painted on. You can see it from the car and be on the rim in a minute, which makes it one of the easiest geological stops near Reykjavík. Geologists describe it as a pair of maar craters, blasted open when rising magma met groundwater, probably more than 6,000 years ago. The lake is more than 40 meters deep. Its color comes from thermal algae and minerals in the water, and it reads strongest on a bright day with the sun high. From Reykjavík, Grænavatn is about 45 minutes away by way of Hafnarfjörður and Route 42, past the lake Kleifarvatn. The Seltún geothermal area is only a couple of kilometers north on the same road, so the two pair easily. Park at the roadside pullout by the crater and give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to walk part of the rim. The crater edges are loose gravel, and wind across Krýsuvík can be strong. In winter, and whenever there is volcanic activity on the peninsula, check the official road-conditions map and travel alerts for closures before you set out.

Grótta Lighthouse

Grótta Lighthouse stands on a small tidal island at the western tip of Seltjarnarnes, about ten minutes' drive from downtown Reykjavík. The white tower dates from 1947, though a light has marked this point since 1897, and on a clear day you can see Snæfellsjökull glacier across the bay. Grótta is only an island at high tide. At low tide a narrow causeway of sand and rock links it to the mainland, and you can walk out and stay for up to six hours. Check the Seltjarnarnes tide table before you set off, because the rising tide covers the causeway again. The island is a protected nature reserve with hundreds of nesting Arctic tern pairs, and it closes to all visitors for the nesting season from May 1. The town gives the end date as July 15 in one place and July 31 in another, so plan your walk out to the lighthouse for August through April. Even during the closure, the tower is in clear view from the shore. On clear winter nights, Grótta Lighthouse is one of the closest northern lights spots to Reykjavík, since the sky over the sea is darker than anywhere downtown. Bring warm layers for the wind off the bay. Kvika, a small geothermal footbath designed by artist Ólöf Nordal, sits on the shore near the lighthouse and is free to use year-round. Without a car, take bus 11 out to Seltjarnarnes and get off at Lindarbraut/Hofgarðar, about a 15-minute walk from Grótta. Allow an hour if you cross to the island, or 20 minutes for a sunset stop on the shore.

Gufufoss

Gufufoss is a waterfall on the Fjarðará river beside Route 93, about 3.5 kilometers above the town of Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland. The river drops over a dark basalt ledge into a rocky bowl, and the spray it throws up gives the falls its name, which means Steam Falls. Most people meet the Gufufoss waterfall on the way down into Seyðisfjörður, and it's a good reason to stop before the last bends to town. It's one of several falls on the Fjarðará as the river follows the road down from the plateau. From town the drive takes about five minutes, and from Egilsstaðir, the largest town in East Iceland, allow about 25 minutes over the Fjarðarheiði mountain pass. There's no formal parking lot, only a small pull-off beside the road, so slow down early on the descent or you'll drive past it. A short walk over rough ground takes you down to the riverbank for the full view. Plan on 15 to 30 minutes, longer if you scramble along the boulders for photos. Summer brings the easiest conditions and the greenest slopes, while in winter the falls are often partly frozen. Fjarðarheiði climbs above 600 meters and can be snowy or closed in bad weather, so check the official road-conditions map before you cross.

Gunnuhver Hot Springs

Gunnuhver is a geothermal area of steam vents and boiling mud pools at the southwest tip of the Reykjanes Peninsula, off Route 425 near the Reykjanes lighthouse. Its main mud pool, about 20 meters across, is currently the largest in Iceland, and on a calm day you can see the steam column from the road long before you arrive. The name means Gunna's hot spring. Local legend says the ghost of a woman named Guðrún, or Gunna, haunted the district after a quarrel over unpaid rent, until a priest set a trap about 400 years ago and she fell into the spring. Stand in the sulfur-smelling steam for a minute and the story is easy to believe. The Gunnuhver geothermal area lies inside the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark, and its water is mostly heated seawater, which is unusual in Iceland. Steaming increased sharply after the nearby geothermal power plant began drawing on the reservoir in 2006. Since then, surges of activity have damaged viewing structures and closed the site more than once. Two wooden viewing ramps keep you on safe ground. One stands next to the main mud pool, where you hear the boiling and feel the steam, and the other sits on Kísilhóll, a silica hill with a view over the whole field. Despite the name Gunnuhver hot springs, nothing here is for bathing, and the ground beyond the railings can scald. Gunnuhver is about 25 minutes from Keflavík Airport and about an hour from Reykjavík, which makes it an easy first or last stop of a trip. There's no entrance fee, and 20 to 30 minutes is enough on the platforms. Seismic activity has closed roads on the peninsula at short notice in recent years, so check the official road-conditions map and hazard notices before you set off.

Guðlaug

Guðlaug is a small geothermal bathing pool built into the sea wall on Langisandur beach in Akranes, West Iceland, about 50 minutes' drive north of Reykjavík through the Hvalfjörður tunnel. Steps lead from the hot water straight down to the beach, so you can take a cold plunge in the bay between soaks. The pool opened in December 2018, paid for by a memorial fund in the names of Jón Gunnlaugsson and Guðlaug Gunnlaugsdóttir, which is where the name comes from. It's built on three levels. At the top is a viewing deck, the middle level holds the hot pool and showers, and the bottom has a shallow wading pool. Treat Guðlaug in Akranes as a quick soak on the way north, since an hour is plenty. There are changing rooms on site, and you can rent a towel for 830 ISK, or sea-swimming shoes and gloves for 1,140 ISK each if you want to try the sea. On a clear day, you look across Faxaflói Bay toward Reykjavík and Snæfellsjökull. Under the 2026 town price list, adults pay 2,800 ISK, while seniors, disabled visitors and teens aged 10 to 17 pay 1,400 ISK. Children under 10 get in free, and so do 10- to 17-year-olds with a paying adult. A 10-visit card costs 18,630 ISK. Guðlaug is open all year, but the hours change with the season and sometimes at short notice, so confirm them on the day before you drive up. On a dark winter evening, the bay is a good place to watch for the northern lights from the hot water.

Hafnarhólmi

Hafnarhólmi is a small grassy islet at the harbor of Borgarfjörður eystri in East Iceland, where wooden stairs and viewing platforms put you a few meters from nesting puffins. A 2020 survey counted about 10,000 pairs of breeding seabirds on the islet, roughly 7,700 of them puffins. The islet used to sit just offshore, but in the 1970s it was joined to the mainland when the small harbor was built. Fulmars, kittiwakes and common eiders share the rock with the puffins, and a covered shelter lets you keep watching in bad weather. Across the harbor, Hafnarhús café looks straight at the colony. Timing matters more than anything else at Hafnarhólmi. The puffins usually return in early to mid-April and leave around mid-August, and by the end of August they're all gone. Early morning and evening tend to bring the most traffic at the burrows, and an hour on the platforms is usually enough. Hafnarhólmi is about 5 kilometers past the village of Bakkagerði along Road 947, and the village is roughly 70 kilometers from Egilsstaðir over a mountain pass. Plan on a little over an hour each way from Egilsstaðir. Stay on the boardwalks and keep your voice down, since the birds nest right beside the paths.

Hafragilsfoss

Hafragilsfoss is a 27-meter waterfall on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum in Jökulsárgljúfur, Northeast Iceland, about 2 kilometers downstream from Dettifoss in the same canyon. It's part of Vatnajökull National Park, yet most Dettifoss visitors never see it. The setting is the reason to go. From the east rim you look straight down the canyon at the falls, with sheer walls on both sides and usually almost nobody else at the viewpoint. Nearby, the Randarhólar volcanic fissure has exposed its feeder dike in the canyon wall, a cross section of the volcano's plumbing you can pick out from above. The Hafragilsfoss waterfall is best seen from the east bank. Turn off the Ring Road onto gravel Road 864 just east of the Jökulsá bridge, drive north past the Dettifoss east parking lot, and follow the signed spur to the Hafragilsfoss viewpoint, a short walk from the canyon edge. Road 864 is slow, so allow well over an hour from Reykjahlíð at Mývatn. From the west bank, off paved Route 862, the view of the falls is limited. Experienced hikers can instead take the park's D3 Hafragil trail, about 9 kilometers and 4 hours, which descends steeply into the gorge and is graded difficult because of falling rocks. Stick to the rim if you're short on time or unsure on loose ground. Road 864 closes once snow arrives in the fall and reopens only when the mud has dried out in spring, so June to September is the realistic season for a Hafragilsfoss visit. Check the official road-conditions map before you go, and combine it with the east side of Dettifoss on the same drive.

Hallormsstaðaskógur

Hallormsstaðaskógur is a national forest on the east shore of Lagarfljót in East Iceland, about 27 km south of Egilsstaðir. Birch woods, larch stands and planted spruce cover about 740 hectares, and Icelanders often call it the largest forest in the country. It's also the best proof that Iceland can grow real woodland. Hallormsstaður National Forest dates to 1905, when the surviving birch woods were fenced off from sheep and became Iceland's first national forest. Tree-planting trials followed, and today the forest holds about 85 species gathered from some 600 places around the world. Even the small village of Hallormsstaður sits inside the trees, the only one in Iceland that does. The arboretum near the main road is the easiest introduction, with more than 70 species along a family-friendly loop. Beyond it, about 40 km of paths run through Hallormsstaðaskógur forest, and a hiking map at each trailhead shows the marked routes. The 2.8 km Remba trail passes the 21-meter Lambafoss waterfall, while the 5.4 km Hallormsstaður hiking circle is easy enough for families. Down at the water, Atlavík is a birch-ringed cove with a campsite that once hosted large summer festivals. If walking isn't enough, the forest also has a nine-basket disc golf course and a mountain bike trail. From Egilsstaðir, follow Route 95 south and carry straight on at the Grímsá junction onto Route 931, which runs along Lagarfljót into the trees. The drive takes roughly 25 minutes. Akureyri is about four hours away, and the Hengifoss trailhead is only about 10 minutes farther around the head of the lake. The national forest is open to everyone all year. Summer is the greenest time and the season for camping, and in fall the birch and larch turn yellow. In winter, ice can make the trails slick and snow can affect the roads, so check the official road-conditions map before you drive. Give it an hour for the arboretum and a short walk, or half a day for a longer hike.

Harpa

Harpa is the concert hall and conference center on the Reykjavík waterfront, at Austurbakki 2, a short walk from the city center and the Old Harbour. Opened in 2011, Harpa Reykjavík is home to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Reykjavík Big Band, with concerts and conferences through the year. Henning Larsen Architects and Batteríið Architects designed the building with the artist Ólafur Elíasson, whose facade of geometric glass panels is the part everyone photographs. On a sunny day those panels throw patches of colored light across the floors inside, and on a gray one they take on the color of the harbor. You don't need a ticket to walk in. The public areas are open Sunday to Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Climb the stairs through the foyers for the glass seen from inside and a view over the harbor to Mount Esja. Back on the ground floor are Hnoss Bistro and the Rammagerðin design shop, and the Volcano Express ride runs daily on level K2. To see Eldborg, the main hall, book a concert or join a guided tour. Tours run in English on scheduled dates, last 45 to 60 minutes and cost 5,200 ISK in 2026, with children 12 and under free. Allow 30 minutes for a walk-through on your own, or plan an evening around a performance, which is the best way to hear what the halls were built for. If you're driving, Harpa's underground garage is open 24 hours, with 545 spaces and 13 electric charging points. It's one of the simplest places to park in downtown Reykjavík.

Hegranes Camping ground

Hegranes camping ground is a group campsite at Félagsheimilið Hegranes, a community hall on the Hegranes peninsula in Skagafjörður, North Iceland, about 10 minutes' drive from Sauðárkrókur. Groups book the private field and the hall together, which makes it a good fit for a choir trip or a family reunion. The site is for groups only, so solo travelers and couples can't just turn up with a tent. For a single night, head to Sauðárkrókur Campground or Camping Varmahlíð instead, both run by the same operator. What a group gets is space indoors when the weather turns. The hall is about 270 square meters and seats around 110 people at its own tables and chairs, with four toilets and a kitchen that has a dishwasher, fridge, stove and coffee maker. Up to 20 people can sleep inside, and outside there's electricity for up to 10 vehicles. The operator charges a flat group rate per 24 hours or per weekend, with cleaning billed on top. Season dates for Hegranes aren't posted separately, so contact the operator by phone or email to check availability before you plan around it. The peninsula itself is low farmland between the two arms of the Héraðsvötn river, close to where they reach the sea. From the hall, it's a short drive to the pool and shops in Sauðárkrókur, and the Glaumbær turf farm museum is roughly 20 minutes away.

Heiðarbær Swimming Pool

Heiðarbær Swimming Pool is a small, family-run outdoor pool with a hot tub at Heiðarbær in Reykjahverfi, North Iceland, about 20 minutes' drive south of Húsavík on Route 87. After a cold morning on a whale-watching boat, it's the quiet way to warm up. Expect a modest setup rather than a spa. There's one small pool, a hot tub and sun loungers, plus floats and toys for children, and the campsite and restaurant share the same yard. Because it sees far fewer visitors than the GeoSea baths in Húsavík, you often get the water nearly to yourself. The Heiðarbær pool is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., late enough for an evening soak after a day around Mývatn. The campsite next door only runs from June 15 to August 31, so call ahead outside that window to check the pool is open. Dinner is served on site from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Adult entry is 1,200 ISK on the posted price list, with seniors and disabled visitors paying 900 ISK and children aged 6 to 16 paying 500 ISK. Children under 6 swim free. A shower on its own costs 500 ISK, and so does renting a towel or a swimsuit, which helps if you packed light.

Hella Swimming Pool

Hella Swimming Pool (Sundlaugin á Hellu) is the outdoor village pool in Hella, South Iceland, attached to the sports hall beside the Ytri-Rangá river just off Route 1. An hour or so into a South Coast drive, it's a good reason to pull off the Ring Road, and it's where local families swim after work and school. The main pool is 25 by 11 meters and certified for competitions, so lap swimmers get real lengths. Around it are a massage tub, two hot tubs and two shallow wading pools, plus three water slides, two big and one small. A steam bath and a sunbathing area round it out, which makes it an easy win with kids. Hella sits on the Ring Road about 94 km east of Reykjavík, roughly an hour and a quarter by car, and about half an hour before Seljalandsfoss. That makes the pool a handy break on the way to the waterfalls, or an evening soak if you're staying in town before heading inland toward Hekla and Landmannalaugar. Admission for anyone 16 and over is 1,500 ISK, ages 10 to 15 pay 500 ISK, and seniors and disabled visitors pay 750 ISK, on the 2026 price list. If you forgot your gear, swimsuit and towel rental is 1,500 ISK, and a 10-visit adult card costs 7,500 ISK. On weekdays the swimming pool in Hella is open 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. all year. In summer (May 23 to August 16 in 2026), weekend hours run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the rest of the year weekends close at 4 p.m. Most other public holidays follow the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule, while the pool is closed on Christmas Day, December 26 and New Year's Day. Allow about an hour, including showering first, which every Icelandic pool requires.